Tuesday, 22 March 2016

One of the speakers and stall holders at Photobook Bristol this year is Craig Atkinson of Café Royal Books. Craig has famously published over 250 books in the last 10 years costing around £5 - £8. Mostly in black and white, the books tap into and revive a British photographic tradition dating back to the 1970s. They have become an archive in their own right in other words and have gained recognition as such.

What are the best places to sell a photobook?It varies. People buy for various reasons, so gift shops, galleries, fairs, book shops, websites...All good.

You sell at both photobook events and artist book events? Where do you sell more books?Artist book events. But conversation is good too; selling is only a part.

What are the differences between the photobook fair and the artist book fair?There's an argument to say they're both the same thing, just photobook fairs are more niche. I suppose at photobook fairs there is more talk of the photographic image as a thing, or a sequence of images and their narrative. Art book fairs perhaps more emphasis on the book as a thing, as an art object or multiple. But each of those points could easily cross to 'the other side'.

Could the photobook world be more open in its outlook?Absolutely. As could every book-world. I think terms are preventative. So, as soon as you say 'photobook', or 'artists' book' to someone, associations get in the way. I've always liked Fine Art, or aspects of it because it's a bit of a catch-all — fewer (perceived) limits.Can the photobook world be made any bigger? Does it need to be any bigger?There needs to be a widely recognised definition of 'photobook' first.

What is the point of a photobook?If a photobook is an artists book, then the book itself will provide a context within which to read the photographs. The form and function of the book, binding, folding, layout etc will all play a part in the way you read the images. If a photobook is a picture book, then it's a gallery, or a way to disseminate work quickly, affordably, internationally. It can be a collection, a history, a memory.

What is your earliest memory?Age 3, front room of newly-moved-into house being decorated.

What is your most treasured photobook?I've written loads of answers to this and deleted them all. I find it very difficult to treasure photobooks, or anything else material.

If you could be photographed by anybody, who would you choose? My kids. They have no baggage to interfere with taking the picture.

What did you want to be when you were growing up?An architect.

What is your guiltiest pleasure?Pizza / chocolate

Who would you invite to your dream dinner party? There are these tunnels in Liverpool. Williamson Tunnels. Williamson was a philanthropist who loved tunnels. He employed hundreds of people to make the tunnels for him. Then he invited them, and many friends and dignitaries to a dinner in the newly finished tunnels. There was a huge table with a vat of porridge in the middle. Lots of people were disgusted that they'd been invited to such a meagre dinner and left. Once they'd gone, he invited those who stayed, into the next tunnel. A huge banquet.I'd invite the people who stayed.

What words or phrases do you use too much?That's good.Be careful.

If you could edit your past, what would you change?Nothing. I don't like regrets.

Which is better; photography or drawing?Ha! Have you ever seen a sign that says 'no drawing permitted'?

What is the most important lesson life has taught you?Don't have favourites, or treasure material items, or have regrets, and work hard. And don't use clichés!

But the relationships go beyond the book launch. Peter Mitchell has long been admired by just about everybody involved in British documentary photography in the late 1970s and early 1980, and is just getting recognition now. Photobook Bristol and RRB Publishing are really happy to be bringing Peter's work to the public eye by publishing both new work and reworking old classics like Memento Mori,

As mentioned, Laura el Tantawy was talking with Photobook Bristol and IC Visual Labs well before her book was launched, as was Mariela Sancari, while everybody who met Nicolo de Giorgis was bowled over by his energy, enthusiasm and ability to enliven a project through hard work and smartness,. So there are connections and relationships that people have worked on establishing through meeting people, showing their work, and sharing ideas, projects and possibilities. We meet new people every year, and we never know who will be speaking at the following year's event.

So this is why the people were chosen for the line-up for 2016.

KEN GRANT

Ken Grant has a new book coming out in 2016, published by RRB publishing, and launching at the festival. It's on football, Liverpool and it's kind of autobiographical. Ken is a poet, an artist and is beautiful to listen to. That's why he's coming.

MARK POWER

Mark Power spoke last year on the economy of the photobook, with a breakdown of which books made money (Die Mauer ist Weg made him a bundle of money, Mass did not). When Mark talks he cuts to the chase. This year he's going to cut to the chase with a performative launch of his latest book, Destroying the Laboratory for the Sake of the Experiment. Complete with poetry, performance, design and slideshow, it's going to going to be a different kind of launch. We can't wait.

We believe in the pleasure of the festival. That's why it's not just about books, that's why it's not a conference or a symposium and we don't have papers. It's about food, drink, music and meeting people with a shared world view. It's about enjoying yourself. And nobody looks like they're having quite a good a time as David Solo, book collector extraordinaire. His joy brings us joy. This year, David will be channelling happiness our way in a discussion on the photobook (its affordability, its accessibility, its relevance) with a panel of experts who know things nobody else does!

LAURA EL TANTAWY

Laura has had a relationship with Bristol since before In the Shadow of the Pyramids was published. And what a book it is. It's political, it's personal and it looks fantastic. At the same time, it is a complex and multi-layered book that does not propose any easy answers to what came during the so-called Arab Spring and what came after. This is what Laura will be talking about; photography that matters, including the project that has developed in the years following the events of Tahrir Square.

AMAK MAHMOODIAN

Amak is launching her new book (you can pre-order here) Shenasnameh in April. This is a very personal book that links a key event in Amak's childhood (being told she would burn in hell for having a hair strand showing beneath her headscarf) with the functions of passport pictures. Amak has been through the pain barrier on this one, but we think it will be one of the books of the year, with work that looks at censorship, resistance and photography in stripped down form.

DRAGANA JURASIC

Yu: The Lost Country was one of the hits of last year, a beautifully photographed and written account of what it's like to be part of a country that no longer exists, to find that country transformed into something alien and unfamiliar, and how that alienness is experienced in a journey where memory, photography and literature are melded together.

Krass Clement is well-known in Denmark and amongst book afficionados, and his books are wonderfully made; purist's photobooks that are beautifully photographed and edited. They tell stories filled with hopes and fears and sorrow and loneliness. This is a rare opportunity to hear Krass speak (he'll be in conversation with Martin Parr) and is reason enough to come to the festival in itself. Seriously, why don't more people know Krass Clement?

Here are some of Ivars' tips on photography. If you like 'if your pictures aren't good enough, you're not close enough...' you'll love these.

JAMES BARNOR

James Barnor has been active in photography since the 1950s, when he worked in Ghana for publications like Drum. His work reads like a record of post-colonial West Africa, a mix of studio, fashion and reportage that captures the energy and optimism of the time and is just beautifully shot. His first book, Ever Young, was published last year, but it won't be his last, and we can't wait to hear him talk about Ghana, photography, with a little bit of sex and glamour thrown in for good measure.

YUMI GOTO

We know Yumi Goto and her incredible Reminders Photography Stronghold through the work of Kazuma Obara and Yoshikatsu Fuji. This is work that has integrity, energy and an attention to the book form in all its parts that is quite incredible. Yumi mixes the photobook with the book arts via the highest level of documentary practice. We don't know anyone else who works with that mix, on that level.

SONIA BERGER

Sonia runs the fabulous Dalpine Books. Founded in 2010 in Madrid by Sonia and José Manuel, Dalpine is part publisher, part bookseller, with inspiration added. Dalpine publications include Karma by Óscar Monzón, AMA LUR by Jon Cazenave, and GRASS by Michele Tagliaferri. This is where design, production and selling come together in gloriously creative form.

JULIAN GERMAIN

Julian has made a mass of photobooks that cut across documentary, archival, and the personal to present a view of Britain that combines football, old age, and declining industry. His Soccer Wonderland is one of surprisingly few photobooks on football around,and will be part of a (small - Saturday afternoon, around 5pm) football subplot in the festival that will also take in Ken Grant and a delirously happy Mark Power (he's a Leicester City fan).

CRAIG ATKINSON

Café Royal Books is the exception that proves the rule, the heart and soul of the British Photobook Publishing industry. Over the last 10 years, Craig Atkinson, the mastermind behind Café Royal has published over 250 books, in small runs, with most Thursdays being the publishing day. So a book a week! And they're cheap. And they're about Britishness, and documentary, and they bring to life old collections that never quite made it, but now have the chance. Craig is an example of somebody creating his own thing out of a latent mass of phenomenal photography that lies untapped. And Café Royal is a phenomenon.

MARIELA SANCARI

Last year, Mariela launched her wonderful Moises at Photobook Bristol. This year she's going to talk about both this work and the other projects she has made. Mariela has the ability to visualise the personal in both photographic and book form in a manner that combines directness, emotion and the autobiographical in equal measure.

ANIA NAŁĘCKA

Ania has designed a slew of great photobooks including the brilliant Die Mauer ist Weg by Mark Power, 7 Rooms, Black Sea of Concrete, and The Winners by Rafal Milach, BRUTAL by Michał Łuczak, as well as designing and curating a whole range of publications and exhibitions for the Central European Photography Collective, Sputnik Photos. Her work is the exemplification of simplicity and functionality in design, told in the most accessible way possible. If you're thinking of making a photobook, and you're not a brilliant designer, learn from Ania.Ania will also be running a one-day workshop on Monday 13th June, details of which will go up in the coming month.

Tuesday, 8 March 2016

We are delighted that James Barnor, whose book Ever Young details his extraordinary career in Ghana and beyond, will be speaking at Photobook Bristol 2016. James never shot his own projects. Instead his work demonstrates the power that photojournalism and commercial work can have in the right hands, with pictures that read like a history of post-colonial Ghana as seen through the cultural, political and fashion figures of the day.

James Barnor

Thank you James for appearing on the Photobook Bristol; interview and pictures from Sarah Preston of Neutral Grey.

James BarnorWhat was the first book (photography book ideally) that strongly had an impact on you?

The first thing you need to know is that I don't have the discipline to read, I have lots of books... But I don't have the discipline to sit and read them. So really when it comes to talking about publishing books I am the worse person to ask.

Sarah Preston

The first photo book that captured me? I cannot remember now,

It's a very long time ago! I think of “The road makers” by Willis Bells (American photographer who arrived in Ghana in 1957. he was commissioned to take most of his photographs which covered various aspects of Ghanian life : every day, culture, the industry, etc...) which is a picture book about Ghana. That impressed me, I saw the layout of the book before I left Ghana. Bells was commissioned by the Public Relation Officer. It is a book on life in Ghana... development, culture, people making the road to the next generation.

Sarah Preston

There is also the book "Donovan on Child Portraiture" by Donald J. Donovan (Fountain press, 1950) which I saw in the 50's, in Ghana. I Ordered it in Ghana before I came to England. I have always loved taking photographs of children and babies.

Julius Aikins, a cousin of mine in Ghana, got me into books. He would order books for me (Donovan on Child Portraiture was one of them). He also put me on the road of journalism and introduced me to modern photography.

Sarah Preston

When did you have for the first time the idea of making a book of your work ?

I never thought of the possibility of doing my own book till very late: a Curator (Nana Oforiatta Ayim) suggested it after going through my photographs.

She discovered my work in 2007, during the Ghana at 50 celebration. During the black cultural archive. She was commissioned to organize an exhibition and she chose my work. She was the first curator/ writer to organized a show of my work, and she is the first one who suggested I should do a book.

James Barnor

But saying that, I had always known that my images would one day be used as illustrations to books, but not as my own books.

Sarah Preston

What does it represent for you to have a book on your work ?

With a book on my work now, I feel "the sky is the limit"!
We must make books including an autobiography.
And now, I carry a copy everywhere I go!
Believe me this is only a start !

Sarah Preston

What advice would you give young photographers when it comes to books ?

My advice to young photographers : fall in love with books.
And always think of books when taking photographs.
And most important : think of the book you are about to make so take good care of your images: keeping careful notes to help with easy identification. Keeping proper dates and names of your images, and preserving negatives very safely to me are essential.

Sarah Preston

What is the latest photo book you have seen and which you really like ?

It's a Munem Wasif book, published by Clémentine de la Féronnière.

Everything that I have done I was asked to do, I was commissioned to do. I never did a project for myself, and looking at that book gave me lots of ideas for books.

But also I'd like to say: who can buy a book that cost £30 in Africa ? It's too expensive for Ghanaian people. Only people from upper class can afford books, so this is a real problem for Ghanaians. The cost of acquiring book is a problem.

Unless it is for school and then you have to buy them.

Sarah Preston Can books be made cheaper to extend the global audience to Ghana? If so how? is there a market in Ghana (for example) for cheaper books and should publishers address that market?
Definitely a revision of the cost would greatly help in the purchase of books , and encourage more reading in Ghana, and this will promote book sales.

I cannot tell how much the prices should be reduced but I know that the average income of the Ghanaian household or family does not give room for spending money on books outside normal academic needs. It is only when the cost is low will that money will be spent on books on photography and other hobbies.

There is great appetite for books, in this era of "Education, Education, Education".
The market for books has never been greater, and the habit of reading is now becoming natural to Ghanaians, which opens a wide market for all publishers.

James Barnor

What would you have chosen to photograph if you could go back in time? And what would you photograph now?
This is interesting, because I have this idea of one day going back to photograph games and play things for children: the similarities and differences of what those in the cities and urban dwellers have, and on the other side what those living in the villages have.

Also traditional farming tools or impliments, since all these may change in the next few years; and also I'd like to photograph local handicrafts

Tuesday, 1 March 2016

Here at Photobook Bristol, we believe books are a pleasure, something you enjoy, that you take time over, that you take delight in. From the very act of becoming aware of a book and discussing it with friends, wondering how the physical version looks and feels, to the act of buying a book; from that feeling a little bit of virtue making the active choice not to buy from Amazon, to going if at all possible to a bookshop, or a stall at a festival or an independent photobook seller, and browsing shelves and talking to booksellers and photographers and getting an insight into a publication and the how and why it was made; it should all be a pleasure.

(The Pleasure of Books is something that will be talked about at Photobook Bristol 2016.)

And of course, one of the major, major pleasures of photobooks (and something that one cannot get a true sense of online) is their tactile nature, the delight one can take in holding, touching and smelling a book. That, ultimately is why we love books so much; bcause of the physical pleasure they can give us, and the thought that really great bookmakers put into tying that physicality into images and the outside world, and connecting them in ways that make us emotionally, culturally and physically richer. It's quite a thing that books can do, but when they do it right, they really have a hedonistic, sensual quality to them. They are a delight!

Astonishly, the larger editions have kept the tactile quality and the detail of the original handmade editions. These are wonderfully made books. Silent Histories tells the story of people injured in the American bombing of Tokyo in 1945 (hence the edition number) through a brilliantly put together combination of archive materials, interviews, school photographs and drawings. It is quite stunning. Read a full review by Adam Bell here.

Red String is a wonderful felt-covered book that tells the story of Yoshikatsu's divorced parents. The Red String of the title is the string that is supposed to bind them together in eternal love. In his parents' case, the string broke. But it remains in the book, a fragile thread which symbolises Yoshikatsu as the link that binds. The book is made as two volumes joined beneath the felt cover, a family album, which, like all family albums has multiple readings.

These are amongst the most beautifully conceived and made books of recent years, and it is no accident that both Kazuma and Yoshikatsu's original editions came about through a workshop they both attended at the Reminders Photography Stronghold in Japan.

With that in mind we decided to ask Yumi Goto, Curator of Reminders Photography Stronghold, and an invited speaker of Photobook Bristol 2016 (funding is being sought to fly her over from Tokyo as we speak) a few questions about how these incredible books came into being, and the wider remit of the Reminders Project.

Because of this, I realize that for many years I contributed little to my own country.

I came to this realization following the Great East Japan Earthquake, Tsunami and Nuclear Disaster. This catastrophe caused me to think about my life and my direction. Why do I live my life this way? What is my goal?

But I believe that I now have something to offer to Japan ­ the experience and knowledge gained while working for so long, so far away from home. For a long time, I have wanted to create a place where one can live with photography. A place where one can eat, sleep, see and do photography. A
place not only for myself, but also for anyone who loves and relies on photographs.

To make this possible, I needed a space, and it should be a huge space, big enough to fit my plans. When I started looking for such a location in Tokyo, it seemed unlikely ­ but the fates smiled, and I think I have found a great spot, one with amazing potential.

This place might be my last home ­ I could call it my fortress. It could also be a reliable fortress for those committed people who fight for photography.

So I have named it REMINDERS PHOTOGRAPHY STRONGHOLD.

The plan is to create a photographic gallery and library that offers programs and events that promote photography. In addition to exhibits and books, I plan for the STRONGHOLD to offer international and domestic photo residencies, photography project grants, events, workshops and publishing
opportunities.

For many years, the Reminders Project has had no physical space in which to settle or act on its many ideas: now it finally can.

There is a strong focus on the handmade photobook at RPS? How did this come about?

In 2013 I came across Jan Rosseel, the author of Belgian Autumn. I was in The Hague to check out a photobook workshop and Jan was there as one of its participants.

We spoke a little and he mentioned his book had just been published and when I heard the story behind the book I got excited. He told me that there were only 28 copies made and the reason why and brought me the last copy left.

(Belgian Autumn tells the story of a gang of robbers which killed 28 people while committing their crimes - robbing supermarkets was their speciality. One of the 28 victims was Jan's father. And that's why 28 copies were made).

When I saw his book and knew about the concept, I was very moved; this is the best way the photographers can actually work on the project they are working. If they have a story to tell, they really also need to present how to read the story to the audience and in my opinion, I think the book,
particularly the artist-made book, can do so most accurately.

Since Jan already had a plan to come to Japan so I invited him to do something and we organized very first photobook making workshop in 2014, Kazuma and Yoshikatsu were participants for the first edition and they produced Silent Histories and Red String through the workshop.

Also each little details have meaning, and when you know that, the books become more special.

For me, this was the really the important turning point as I was looking for an alternative way to present visual story telling,

I was particularly looking into the book format. For Belgian Autumn, Jan used his own photographs, collected paper documents, archive materials and changed the paper type. But the thing I liked most was the meaning of the edition size, the number of copies made: 28, one book for each of the victims.

So our first workshop also required participants to prepare a personal story. This story could be your own personal story but it might also be a story of someone else, visualized by you or a fictional story. The aim is to create a compelling story in a condensed way. Photography,(found) objects, documents, and letters can all be used.

How do you run the Workshops

We normally accept submissions from the end of year until February for our workshops. After February once we have fixed the participants, we meet twice before the workshop, so for the first session, I know what they have already and can suggest what more they could do. Then they have something to work on for the 2nd session, In the 2nd session, they come back with new work and new materials they have produced, and if need it, they are given more assignments and we meet again at the workshop.

During the workshop, at the very least they could finish the very first dummy, and then we schedule the end result showcase after the workshop - normally a few months later. So the participants still need to work on the book project on their own but they could again come back twice to receive our
feedback.

Anyway, there should be a reason for each detail they include in the book design. Each detail should make more the book work more as and object for the audience, and make them even feel more and interact with the subject more.

We know Red String and Silent Histories. What was the process in making these?

Well I knew both authors already and Yoshikatsu was working on his project about his parents' divorce. I followed his work for almost a year, it was a really great story and though it didn't seem easy to convey the story just by presenting images it had to be in the format the narrative could best fit in.

Also back then, he had only photographed his father and there was less about his mother. If it was going to be about his parents he should make a balance, so he started to shoot more on his mother's side. Also he decided to take the workshop, so he could finally set the goal to make a book with this story. It wasn't difficult to think of making two separate books; one from the father's side and one from the mother's side.

For the cover, white felt was used; it¹s easy to get dirty and you get a really gentle feeling when you touch it, but also it gets aged by people looking at the book, so it¹s just like a family relationship.

It's a good way but also a sad way of presenting the work. The red string in between the father's side and mother's side, that's also a very important detail. That's Yoshikatsu himself.

For Kazuma, he came to see me as he had been struggling with his photojournalistic approach and he felt that photo itself couldn't do much and look for the change.

As I had a story idea and I wanted to propose someone to do, it was about the victims of the pacific War when US forces massacred 330,000 and left 430,000 Japanese citizens injured. More than 9.7 million citizens were left homeless as 2.23 million houses were destroyed, and over 200 cities were damaged.

This is so little known compared with Hiroshima and Nagasaki, so I proposed him to do a story on the victims living in Osaka since he's based there. It was December 2013. We had a conversation about this and he started research and he also decided to take the workshop, so the
final format was the book.

During the workshop and after the workshop, he was asked to use his book as evidence to submit to the supreme court so he made two books for them. It's really interesting to see that Kazuma found photos from them and the process to know about each old archives, he also developed the idea for the book.

Why is there such an emphasis on such beautiful and tactile objects?

To get the audience involved in the story, the book has to be a tactile object. Selecting papers, choosing details, those details have reasons why we do so. The latest book I distributed is Julia Mejnertsen's handmade edition "TELL ME, HOW DO YOU PRONOUNCE A HYPHEN?". She is the workshop participants from Denmark in 2015.

She wrote an NB on the design of the book and why particular details were made in the way she made them. "A number of pages stick out from under the protection of the cover, which means the pages may become slightly damaged and/or will bend over time. The paper clip and rubber band that are used to keep the book closed may scratch the surface of the cover over time. All is intentional ­ wear and tear is just as beautiful on a book, as it is in life. Please bear in mind that the book is hand-glued and delicate, just like the human soul, handle with care."

How she kept that photo is really touching. Also the missing certificate makes the audience wonder why there are only photo corners on the page (in the book, there is a page with a missing disability certificate - to many viewers, including myself, it looks like it's left out by accident, but it's omission is a kind of protest against it not being granted to the bombing victim).

What are the projects you have seen that challenge a particular historical narrative?

For me Jan Rosseell's BELGIAN AUTUMN is the one project. Also Kazuma's silent histories. And Amak Mahmoodian's Shenasnameh.